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Were the attacks in Paris and Brussels an intelligence failure?

The title is almost lurid, but the author does explain why he asks the question.

He concludes, with my emphasis:

Intelligence failures can be determined by the lack of information or the lack of information accuracy, which determines a distortion of the analytical process. This can occur either through ignoring or through the mistaken interpretation of data. The analysis of the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels suggests there is a new form of terrorism, leading to an unpredictable intelligence failure. The asymmetric character of jihadi attacks means that the success of combatting terrorism no longer relies just on the magnitude of available resources. Unlike other fields, the identification of the causes of errors of intelligence activity is especially difficult, given that their main resource – information – is difficult to quantify. Thus, one can legitimately ask the question – are we talking about a failure of the intelligence services or of a failure of public policies that determine the direction of action of these organizations?

The letter/package bomb that exploded yesterday in IMF HQs Paris injuring the mail person was sent by the same Greek left wing anarchist terror group that sent a similar bomb from Greece to the Germany Finance Ministry that was defused yesterday......

Same group behind a similar package bomb sent last year 2016 to the office of Merkel and also defused....

Hangs together with their dislike of IMF/Germany over the Greek financial bailout....

The Professor and the Jihadi

A long read from the NYT on the French academic Gilles Kepel, which has revealing sections like these two:

In September, a landmark survey commissioned by the Montaigne Institute found that 28 percent of French Muslims had adopted values “clearly opposed to the values of the republic,” with a mix of “authoritarian” and “secessionist” views, including support for polygamy and the niqab, or full-face veil, and opposition to laws enforcing secularism.

(Two later) Jean-Pierre Filiu, another prominent French scholar of the Islamic world, pointed out that several thousand Muslims marched for peace in Mantes-la-Jolie after the Abballa murders (who murdered two police officers at home), many of them bearing pictures of the murdered couple and posters denouncing terrorism, and laid wreaths on the steps of the local Police Headquarters. There was no one there to greet them, and not much news coverage. “The jihadis want to blur the lines, but the lines should be clear,” Filiu told me. “It’s not the Salafis who are against us, and not the Muslims. It’s the jihadis.”

The only known surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris terror attacks appeared in court in Brussels Monday, but refused to cooperate or answer questions.
It was the first public appearance for 28-year-old Salah Abdeslam since his arrest in Belgium in March 2016, according to Reuters news agency. He is on trial for charges related to a gunfight with authorities that preceded his arrest.
Abdeslam is accused of attempted murder in a terrorist context and illegal possession of firearms, charges which carry up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The prosecutor is calling for the maximum sentence.

In court Monday, Abdeslam looked very different than the clean-shaven young man who appeared in his arrest photos. His beard was full and his hair was longer and combed back, according to CNN affiliate BFM TV.
Abdeslam had asked to be present at his trial. But he refused to stand or to answer questions, BFM TV reported, and even balked at confirming his identity when asked by the court, telling those assembled that silence was "his defense."
But Abdeslam did lecture the court about the treatment of Muslims by the justice system, reported BFM TV.
"What I see is that Muslims are judged in the worst way," he said. "My silence does not make me a criminal ... I am not afraid of you, nor of your allies. I place my trust in Allah. I have nothing to add."